Tiger Barb bullies its shoal to death!

[jo3olous]

Originally Posted by MatthewLaw

I guess they're still 'deciding' who is the leader of the pack?? would you consider adding in a partition to keep the bully away from the others?

I will if the one being stressed out now dies, for now i'd rather not...

Update*** So I bought some testing strips (API) for like 12.00, not sure if theyre very accurate but it read my nitrates at 0 (NO2 and NO3), my pH was about a 7.5, KH hardness 180, GH hardness 120-180....

If these numbers are bad for my barbs, how do I adjust???

[Pure]

Yeah I'd say they aren't acurate. Sorry someone should have told you about the test strips. They are rubish. A non planted, fully cycled tank usually reads some sort of nitrates. I wouldn't bet the races on that zero reading.

[brian1973]

Originally Posted by Pure

Yeah I'd say they aren't acurate. Sorry someone should have told you about the test strips. They are rubish. A non planted, fully cycled tank usually reads some sort of nitrates. I wouldn't bet the races on that zero reading.

Pure is spot on here..the sad thing is for another 10bucks you could have bought the API Master kit which will last alot longer and as long as you follow the instructions to the letter will give you accurate reading.

[big54bob]

Ya Test strips ain't acurate.

I had a shoal + FM drive one too jumping then one got weaker and the rest killed it. They also killed a bunch guppies too.

Damn i want killer Tiger barbs again!!!!!!!

[FishGeek]

My barbs did this when I had them. I added more and changed the tank around and broke up the line of sight more and it seemed to calm them all down.

[sombunya]

I had one Bluegill that was the biggest bully in the tank. He took over one end of my 40, five fish on the other end. Anyone went near his end and he chased them harshly. I put him in a 20 with a few Sculpin that mostly hide from him. The others are back to normal, swimming around the tank and chasing each other around. No one fish dominates half the tank like before.

Many fake plants to provide hiding places is good. My Sculpin are glad to have them.

Water testing kit is MANDATORY! The 20 gallon tank is still cycling so I do a 5 gallon water change every night. Nitrites never rise above .25 ppm, and I still feed them somewhat lightly.
Get the kit. Money well spent.

[jo3olous]

Originally Posted by pure

yeah I'd Say They Aren't Acurate. Sorry Someone Should Have Told You About The Test Strips. They Are Rubish. A Non Planted, Fully Cycled Tank Usually Reads Some Sort Of Nitrates. I Wouldn't Bet The Races On That Zero Reading.

Damn Shouldve Paid The Extra 10.00

[jo3olous]

Originally Posted by FishGeek

My barbs did this when I had them. I added more and changed the tank around and broke up the line of sight more and it seemed to calm them all down.

I added a few more fake plants and a little rock with plants and they seemed a lot happier afterwards. They were actually out grouping rather than getting chased around. We'll see how this works out. I'm gonna have to add more hiding places, my tanks pretty bare but I still left the front of the tank clear for room to swim around

[s_anthony]

I've never had any issues with my barbs in the 3 years I've had them. I still have one of my originals from my first batch of barbs in with my current school. The folks at my LFS think Im nuts when I say my barbs aren't agressive - I've had bettas, guppies, and all kinds of other fish in with them and there have been no wars. Lucky for sure

[jo3olous]

wow i cant believe how little i knew about my fish 1 month ago... thanks a lot s_anthony for bringing this thread back from the dead! lol